Machine for piercing glass bulbs



Jan. 21, 1947. c, EISLER MACHINE FOR PIERCING GLASS BULBS Filed Jan. 20, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTUR ATT' RNEV Patented Jan. 21, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,414,587 MACHINE ron PIERCINGGLASWS BULBS Charles Eisler, South Orange, N. J

Application January 20, 1944, Serial No; 519,061

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved machine for piercing glass bulbs such as radio tubes and the like and is particularly adapted for forming protuberances on the end of a tube and then piercing the protuberances, preferably by means of the same instrumentality that causes the glass to be protruded.

The improved machine is characterized by simplicity of construction and operation along with propelling means that facilitate the operations on the bulbs but also utilizes the weight of the bulb in assisting the protruding operation and the piercing that follows.

Another new feature of the machine is the means employed for halting the rotation of the bulb and its support while the piercing operations are performed without any undue strain on the propelling mechanism or on the bulb-supporting media and also without any undue wear on the contacting driving elements.

The invention is also contained in certain details of construction which are hereinafter more fully described and finally embodied in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine in which view a portion of the spider is shown as cut away to display certain working parts. Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical elevational View, partly sectional, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the mechanism for rotating and stopping the piercing heads. Figure 3 is a fragmentary, vertical elevational view, partly sectional, taken on line 3--3 of Fig. l, illustrating the construction of-the piercing head,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view of the piercing head, showing the positionthereof at station F, of Fig. 1, the nozzles of said head lifting the glass tube, i

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the glass tube settled down on the nozzlesby its own weight and the buttons or protuberances formed on said tube,

Fig. 6 is a similar view, taken at station G, wherein compressed air is passed through ducts in the nozzles to pierce the protuberances formed as shown in Fig. 5, and

Fig. 7 is a similar View, taken between stations G and H, wherein the piercing head nozzles descend so that the glass tube is restored to the original position shownin Figs. 3 and 4;

In electronics it is often necessary to employ glass'tubes closed at the top'and to provide this top with perforations for the passage of leads or wires-the perforations being subsequently sealed after assembly. In order to facilitate the sealing 2 it has been found desirable to have the perforations at the top of button-like protuberances which are pierced. The operations required therefore are; heating at predetermined spots, forming of protuberancesand then piercing.

The machine whereby these operations are performed automatically and in proper sequence is the subject matter ofthis application. The general construction of this machine does not differ in general from the prior form of bulb-- sealing machine but has the novel features of improved piercing heads rotated by friction drive and means for halting the rotation of the piercing heads and the bulbs by means novel in this type of machine. p

The machine comprises a spider ll rotatably mounted on the base I2, with intermittent rotation of the spider being effected by anindexing device exemplified by the barrel cam l3 periodically engaging the indexing disc l4 secured to the spider, thebarrel cam being driven by the motor 15 and the usual transmission and speedreducing means which are well-known to those skilled in the art and as shown for example, in Patent No. 2,063,235,- issued to me December 8,

macee particularly Figs. '7 and s of said p e t:

The bulb supports or piercing heads are shown at it of which ten are shown as mounted on the spider H by the flanges l-l integral with the vertical guide-portions I8. Eiach' support or head comprises an outer sleeve l9 rotating on the ballbearing-s 2!! or other suitable bearing for .easy rotation of the head; The outer sleeve It has an inner extension sleeve 21, both sleeves being held in fixed relation by the screws 22.

Axia-lly or longitudinally slidable and rotatable with the extension sleeve 2| is the lifting sleeve 24 which is operatively connected to the sleeve 2| by the limiting key 23; In the top of the lifting sleeve 24 the fixed nozzle carrier 25 having the head 26 which normally, that is, when the piercing head is inact ive ,-has seat 21 on the extension sleeve 2|. The blow nozzles 28 are screwed or otherwise" secured into the nozzle carrier 25 and'tliey communicate with the in terior 29 of the tubular lifting sleeve 24 by the air ducts 30L V The lifting sleeve, with the nozzle carrier and nozzles, is raisedby the cam track 3| n aging the collar 320i the sleeve 24. The piercing head is also provided with the heat insulating sleeve 33' resting on'" top" of" the outer sleeve 19, over which is slipped the electronic tube 54 which is to be pierced, the tube fitting loosely enough to descend by its own weight.

The tube goes through the usual preheating during which operations it is rotated while the spider halts at the heating stations, these operations being well understood by those who operate machines of this general type.

For rotating the piercing heads the friction bone 34 is mounted on the extension sleeve 2| by the screws 35, the cone being frictionally entrained and rotated by the driving cone 36 which rotates with the sprocket gear 31 which in turn is driven by the chain 38 over driving sprocket 39 which is actuated by the motor [5 by means of the usual transmissions and speed-reduction mechanisms.

The driven cone 34 is provided with afinger 40' which is designed to engage stop pins 4 I .fixed in the base I2 which pins are stationed at stations F and G where the rotation of the piercing heads is to be halted. The mechanism for rotating'the piercing heads differs from that previously employed in sealing machines and the like in that two friction cones are employed in place of the.

usualpositive drive or roller and gear drive with the usual slippage hub in the driving gear. These more expensive slippage means have been dispensed with, for during the rotational stop of thepiercing head the driving cone will overcome the frictional resistance of the driven cone which is stopped by the engagement of the finger 49 with a stop pin 4|.

The cone 34 is allowed to slide to a limited extent on the sleeve 2| by the set-screw 35 which engages the hole at 42 which is slightly slotted. By this means the cone 34 will, by its own weight always bear down on the driving cone or yield slightly upward during the slip. The friction drive referred to is more particularly illustrated and described in my copending application, Serial No.'581,385 which issued as Patent No. 2,409,423, October 15, 1946; said application was filed by me as a division of the instant application, Serial No. 519,061.

The process of piercing the glass tube is as follows: The glass tube is placed over the heat insulating sleeve 33 at the loading station A, sliding into place by its own weight. It is then supported by the sleeve 33 as shown in Figure 3, with the nozzles clearing the inside of the top of the tube. The head, after passing stations B, C, D, and E, for preheating and heating by the burners 43, 43a, 43b, 43c. fed from the usual gas, oxygen and air supply pipes 44, 45, and 46, then reaches station F where the rotation of the piercing head is stopped by the engagement of the finger 40 with the stop 4| so that the nozzles 28 the outlet 53 in the cam track and from there into the sleeve 24. The compressed air then passes through the ducts to the nozzles as in Figure 6 and the blast pierces tube 54 to provide pierced protuberances 48. Immediately thereafter the spider moves to carry the mecha nism to a sharp drop in and termination of the cam track which causes the nozzles to descend and the now perforated glass tube resumes the original position shown in Figure 3 and Fig. 7. The pierced tube is then annealed by burners 43d, 43c, at stations H and I.

I claim:

1. In a machine for piercing bulbs, said machine having stations, a spider, bulb supports mounted on said spider, means to intermittently rotate said spider to rotate the bulb supports to predetermined stations, sleeves mounted interiorly of each bulb support, nozzles secured to said sleeves, means engaging the bulb supports to rotate the same at predetermined stations of the machine, means engaging the support rotating means to prevent the latter from rotating said supports at predetermined'stations, burners at a predetermined station of the machine to heat said bulbs to soften the same, means engaging the sleeves at one of said stations to elevate same into engagement with the bulbs so that the softened portions of the bulbs, where engaged by are directly under the over-head flames 41 by which the spot heating of the glass-tube head is effected. At the same timeithe nozzles 23 are raised by the cam track 3lr-andthey lift the glass tube as shown in Figure 4. The localized plasticity of the glass tube then allows it to settle down on the nozzles by its own weight and the buttons or protuberances 43 are formed as shown in Figure 5. V The nozzles therefore serve initially as forming tools. Atthe next station G compressed air is admitted into the sleeve 24 through the duct 49 to economizer 50, corresponding to the economizer of similar outline more particularly shown and described in Patent No. 1,828,493 issued to me October 20th, 1931, which is worked by the transmission 5| cooperative with the indexing drive, and thence through the duct 52 to the nozzles, will form protuberances, and means for injecting air under pressure at another station through said nozzles and against the protuberances to pierce the latter.

2. In a machine for piercing glass bulbs, a spider, a hollow bulb support, means to position the same vertically on said spider, a nozzle carrier mounted in said support, nozzles fixed to said carrier, means on said machine to heat and thus soften the bulb, means in said machine for engagement with said nozzle carrier to elevate the same to engage and support the bulb on the nozzles during the heating of the bulb, so that the softened portions of the bulb, where engaged by the nozzles, will form protuberances, and means communicating with said nozzle carrier to admit air under pressure through said nozzles and against the protuberances, to pierce the latter.

3. In a machine for piercing a glass bulb, a spider, a base and means to rotate said spider relative to said base, a sleeve mounted on said spider, a nozzle carrier positioned within said sleeve, blow nozzles secured to said carrier, a heat insulating sleeve mounted on the first named sleeve to receive the glass bulb, a lifting sleeve engaging said nozzle carrier, said lifting sleeve having a hollow interior with which the nozzle carrier communicates, a cam track on said base, said lifting sleeve resting on said track, tube heating means associated with said machine aligned with the path of rotation of the glass bulb on rotation of the spider, a compressed air duct communicating with said track, the parts being so proportioned and juxtaposed that, in rotation of said spider, the blow nozzles will be elevated to engage the bulb while the bulb is heated by said heating means, to thereby form protuberances on the bulb, where the same rests onsaid nozzles, compressed air being admitted through the cam track to the interior of the lifting sleeve and thence through the nozzles to pierce the protuberances, thereby piercing the glass bulbs.

CHARLES EIsLER. 

